The Fintech Funding Report
The Fintech Funding Report FY26, produced by Triple Bubble and Cut Through Venture, examines Australian fintech funding from FY20 to FY26. The report covers funding volumes, deal activity, fintech category performance, AI adoption, international investor participation, stage-level trends, and women-founded fintech companies.
In FY26, Australian fintech companies raised $1.7B across 53 disclosed rounds, representing 23% of all Australian startup capital. However, the recovery was highly concentrated: two Airwallex rounds accounted for 56% of all FY26 fintech funding, and excluding those rounds, fintech funding grew by only around 5%.
FY26 Fintech Funding Snapshot
$1.7B in announced fintech funding
53 disclosed funding rounds
23% of all Australian startup capital went to fintech
55% of fintech deals included an international investor
10% of fintech deals involved all-female founding teams
1% of fintech capital went to all-female founding teams
The top 10 fintech deals accounted for 91% of FY26 fintech funding
Key Findings from the Report
Fintech funding increased, but deal activity declined
Fintech funding rose 137% in FY26, from $730M to $1.73B. However, deal count fell to the lowest level in the report’s seven-year dataset, with 53 disclosed rounds, down from 156 rounds at the FY22 peak.
Mega-rounds shaped the headline result
The three largest FY26 fintech deals were:
Airwallex — $498M Series G
Airwallex — $460M Series H
KAST — $113M Series A
Together, the top three fintech deals accounted for 62% of all fintech capital in FY26.
International investors played a major role
International capital remained central to Australian fintech growth:
93% of FY26 fintech capital was raised through rounds with at least one international investor
55% of FY26 fintech deals had international investor participation
International participation increased across every round size since FY20
Where Fintech Capital Flowed
Banking infrastructure led funding
Banking and B2B financial infrastructure was the largest fintech category by capital raised.
$1.1B raised in FY26
$4.8B raised from FY20–FY26
Wealth and investment led deal activity
Wealth and investment was the most active category by deal count.
10 deals in FY26
111 deals from FY20–FY26
Capital shifted toward infrastructure and capital-light models
The report shows funding moving away from balance-sheet lenders and toward infrastructure, payments, wealth, and financial operations.
Top funded FY26 categories included:
Banking and B2B financial infrastructure
Wealth and investment
Payments and acceptance
Financial operations
Finance and spend management
AI Adoption in Fintech
AI adoption accelerated in FY26, but did not define the entire fintech funding cycle.
AI-first fintech companies increased from 6% to 23%
53% of fintechs were AI-first or AI-enabled
AI companies represented 47% of early-stage fintech deals across FY25 and FY26
AI companies captured only 15% of FY26 fintech capital
The report notes that fintech AI activity remains more concentrated in smaller and earlier-stage rounds, while the largest funding rounds continued to favour established non-AI fintech companies.
Stage-Level Funding Trends
Fintech rounds were larger than the broader market at every stage in FY26.
Series A and Series B+ reached record median round sizes, while deal counts remained low. The report also highlights a wider jump from Seed to Series A, with the step-up increasing from 2.75x in FY25 to 6.3x in FY26.
Women in Fintech
Female-founder participation improved by deal count, but capital remained unevenly distributed.
- 24% of FY26 fintech deals involved an all-female or mixed-gender founding team
- 10% involved all-female founding teams
- Mixed-gender teams raised 70% of fintech capital
- All-female teams received just 1% of fintech capital
The report notes that much of the mixed-gender funding result was driven by Airwallex’s two large rounds, so the capital outcome should not be interpreted as broad-based progress.
The Fintech Funding Report FY26 shows that Australian fintech remains a major part of the startup funding ecosystem, with $1.7B raised in FY26 and more than $12B raised since FY20. However, the FY26 rebound was narrow: capital increased sharply, while deal count declined and funding became highly concentrated in a small number of large rounds.
The report points to a fintech market that is maturing but selective. Capital is flowing toward infrastructure, wealth, payments, and financial operations, while AI adoption is accelerating without yet dominating capital allocation. International investors remain highly active, and female-founder participation has improved by deal count, although capital distribution remains uneven.
Download the full Fintech Funding Report FY26 to explore the complete data, category rankings, stage analysis, AI adoption trends, international investor participation, and women in fintech funding outcomes.
